How to Conserve Mental Energy | Willpower скачать в хорошем качестве

How to Conserve Mental Energy | Willpower

Do you feel totally drained at the end of the day? Do you shout at your kids without a reason? You may be suffering from a mental exhaustion and you may not be even aware of it. I want to introduce you to the concept of ego-depletion - a term coined by a social psychologist Roy Baumeister who’s experiments demonstrated that self-control and will power draw upon a limited pool of mental resources that can be used up. It means that overtime when we are fighting temptation or choosing between alternatives, or regulating our emotions, reaching out decisions or choosing what to eat, all of these activities drain mental energy that is limited and at the end we run on reserves feeling drained. Will power and self-control are far more limited and precious resources than most of us realise. Even small acts of self-control use up this limited reservoir - using this energy for one activity means it will be less availed for the next one. We can also look at it like a muscle—it can get exhausted by overuse just like our physical muscles and we need to be aware of that because it has impact on our daily life without us even knowing it - as a result we may act impulsively, take initiative, be proactive and do great work and be awesome parent for that matter. What are some strategies that can help us reserve our mental energy and put it into better use - focusing on things that matter most? 1. Automate. Automate as many of our activities as possible, especially those in the beginning of the day - this is the reason why nearly every successful person has a morning routine. It is not a coincidence. They make sure that they do the same things every morning and do not spend time wondering whether they should get up and go to the gym or sleep in, which shirt to put on and what to have for breakfast - all of those activities are draining mental energy and we don’t even realise it. Some things are drawing mental energy without us even realizing it and that we can automate: -What clothes to wear -What breakfast to eat -When to do the laundry -Journaling or meditating 2. Start with the most important task first and make it nonnegotiable. Whatever that is, usually that would be the last thing you would want to start with. There will be resistance, there will be procrastination - both sucking mental energy. One of the best habit we can put in place is to start each day with the most important thing first. And if we add to that - planning it the day before, we are setting up not only for a great start, but also for a better self-control and better decision making. 3. Simplify our lives - if something is not important to us or doesn’t add value, eliminate it. Sometime we operate on autopilot and engage in activities out of pure habit. Making decisions about small things is draining our energy that we can use for high priority things. 4. Build positive rituals / habits - create powerful rituals to support our willpower. We are prisoners of our negative energy habits and routines that are so much easier to fall into. People with good self-control spend less time resisting desires. They avoid problems instead and don’t expose themselves to temptations. They build powerful rituals. That’s it from me and I'll give you a challenge - what is one good positive ritual you’re going to build on over the next month? Leave me a comment in the comment box. Watch next: http://bit.ly/BoostKidsBrain Previous video:http://bit.ly/DidiBananaCake _______________________________________­­­­_______________ Have a baby and consider starting him/her on healthy solids? Join the tribe here: https://www.BabyMeetsFood.com Jump on my web-site for newsletter: http://SmartParentStories.com Facebook:   / smartparents.  . Follow Didi on Instagram:   / diditonev   Pinterest:   / diditonev   Subscribe here: http://bit.ly/SmartParentStories E-mail: didi@smartparentstories.com